PENITENCE: An Andi Comstock Supernatural Mystery, Book 2 (95,893 words) (29 page)

“Let me worry about that, okay?”

“Okay.”

“And Andi?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you think there’s any chance…I mean, I know it’s silly, but do you think Gus or Vince is somehow involved in, you know, the contract on me?”

“I don’t know. I’ve examined the information I have every which way but standing on my head and I can’t see a connection.” As an afterthought, and because she didn’t think it was safe for Denise to let her guard down yet, she added, “But that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.”

“It seems unlikely to me, too” Denise said, “especially since they’re trying to screw me out of the business for a measly five million bucks. Why not just wait until I’m dead and save themselves the payout?” She hesitated. “The thing is, Clem spent most of his waking hours at the office, Andi. Who would be more likely to know he’d hired someone to kill me than his partners?”

“Yet Clem swears he never mentioned it to them.”

“I’d love to believe that, but he told someone, otherwise why would the killer say he’s been paid in full and the hit’s still on?”

For that, Andi had no response.

. . .

After Andi hung up, she stared at the door leading outside for nearly five minutes. Maybe the UPS guy had delivered the books she ordered from Amazon. Or the Mary Kay lady had a new eye shadow to show her. Or maybe the driver in the vehicle that had torn out of the parking lot had left something for her.

“Man up,” Andi instructed her cautious self sternly. She crossed to the door and eased it open a crack, as if that would be enough see anything, and then a couple of inches more. Assured no evil ninjas awaited her on the landing, she opened it all the way.

There, on her doormat, lay a tiny, squished VW Bug. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that someone was sending her a message about the car crash that had totaled her VW Touareg, only the Touareg wasn’t iconic enough to have it’s own toy model, so someone had used the next closest, obvious thing.

Andi bent to pick up the crushed toy, then realized touching it might muddle any existing fingerprints. She straightened and turned away, heading to her home office, where she retrieved her digital camera. She stopped in the kitchen, pulled a dish towel from the drawer, and tossed it lengthwise over her shoulder.

She leaned over and took several photos of the destroyed toy from the doorway, then stepped over the doormat and got some from that angle. When she lowered the camera, she noticed the note on the door.

BUGS AREN’T THE ONLY THINGS

THAT CAN BE SQUASHED

The flattened toy was bad enough, but the warning, which obviously had been printed out on a laser printer, set Andi’s heart to pounding.

She took several photos of the door before she bent to retrieve the Bug with the dishtowel. She deposited the camera and the dishtowel holding the toy on the dining table before going back to the door. She debated the safest way to remove the note intact and would have left it there if not for the fact that she didn’t want her neighbor across the landing seeing it when he came home. The only solution seemed to be the pair of leather gloves she had that fit her like a second skin. Minutes later, she placed the note on the dishtowel next to the crushed toy.

With those tasks accomplished, her first thought was to call Jack. Her second thought was to shut the door and lock it, which should have been her first thought. Her third thought was that Jack wasn’t speaking to her, so maybe she should contact Stacy. Another internal debate ensued, but no easy answer resulted.

Andi shivered, even though her face felt like it had its own internal heater. Within seconds, her teeth were chattering. She grabbed the blanket off the sofa and wrapped it around herself, then went to stand in front of the fireplace. Eventually, the shivering subsided, but she still hadn’t made a decision as to what she should do next.

While she was deciding her next course of action, someone pounded on her door.

Andi jumped, losing her grip on the blanket.

The pounding continued.

She took a step forward, but her feet tangled in the cotton folds puddled at her feet. She tripped, going down on her knees first before she fell forward. Her body twisted in a vain effort to avoid hitting her head on the coffee table. The glancing blow wasn’t debilitating, but it did stun her.

The pounding on the door continued.

“Andi, open up! I know you’re home because I saw your rental car.”

She rolled onto her back and took a moment to gather her wits.

Jack hit the door with what sounded like the palm of his hand.

She didn’t try to stand, but rolled over and pushed up on all fours so she could crawl to the door. Once there, she reached up, flipped the deadbolt, and moved aside, hoping Jack would show some initiative and open the door. He didn’t disappoint her.

She peered up at him, wanting nothing more than to have him gather her in his arms, but he was still wearing his I’m-pissed-as-hell-at-you expression. To give him credit, it was quickly replaced with concern.

“What happened?”

Andi explained as best she could, but even to her own ears, she sounded like a babbling lunatic.

Jack scooped And
i
up off the floor and carried her to the bedroom.

She mumbled something incohesive.

“Andi, shut up.”

Andi might have, but at that moment, she had something to say. Despite his terse directive, she tried again. In her own mind, the words came out exactly as she thought they should. “Someone wants me dead.”

However, Jack stared at her with a frown, as if she were an incoherent toddler. “What?”

She tried again, speaking slower, exaggerating the enunciation of each word. “I said, someone wants me dead.” She couldn’t help adding in a rather acerbic tone, “Besides you.”

“Very funny.” He placed her on the bed, then gently pushed her hair back so he could examine her forehead. “You have an egg on your temple.”

“Chicken or robin?” she asked. He grinned and despite the pain in her head and the crappy way her body felt, her heart melted.

“Glad to see you didn’t lose your sense of humor when your common sense deserted you earlier.”

The melty-heart, gooey feeling evaporated faster than steam pouring out of a hot kettle. If she’d had the energy, she would have smacked him. Instead, she muttered something not very nice under her breath.

“Are we having our first fight?”

Her head was really beginning to throb. “I don’t know! Are we?”

“I was pretty pissed at you earlier, but….”

“But what? You still had a nasty look on your face when I opened the door.”

“You didn’t open the door, I did.” He released her hair and straightened. “I’m going to make an ice pack for that bump. Stay put.”

“Are you bossy because you’re a cop or are you a cop because you’re bossy?”

He shook his head and turned away, but not before she noticed his lips twitch with amusement. He left the room, returning a few minutes later with a baggie full of ice wrapped up in a dish towel. “Want me to hold it, or do you want to do it?”

“I’m perfectly capable of handling it.”

He handed it to her, studying her intently before he put the back of his hand against her forehead. “You feel like you have a fever.”

“I’m not feeling well,” she admitted, positioning the ice pack gently against her bump. “I had the shivers a while ago, that’s why I was wrapped up in the blanket.”

“What blanket?”

“The one I had on me when you started pounding on my door. I lost my hold on it, then I tripped over it and fell. I hit my head on the coffee table.”

His stormy eyes widened at her accusatory tone. “You’re blaming your fall on me?”

Andi ignored the fact that he sounded hurt rather than angry. “I’d blame it on the postman, but he doesn’t deliver to my door.”

“I’m sorry. I sure as hell didn’t mean to startle you into tripping.” His entire demeanor reeked of sincerity.

Andi felt compelled to exonerate him. After all, he wasn’t responsible because she was born clumsy. “It wasn’t really your fault. I should have gathered the darned thing off the floor before I moved.”

“Still….”

“Jack, it’s okay. Really. The blame is on me, not you.”

He studied her for a few more silent moments. “Do you have a thermometer?”

She told him where it was and moved the ice pack, hoping to make it more comfortable.

Jack brought back the digital stick and inserted the tip into one of the thin plastic sleeves she’d bought to keep it sterile. “Open up.”

Andi complied, closing her lips around the device to keep it in place. When it beeped, Jack removed it, giving a whistle when he read the result.

“What is it?”

“One hundred-point-nine.” He removed the plastic and tossed it into the wastebasket. “What are your other symptoms?”

Andi had to think about it. So much had happened in the past twenty-four hours, she’d just thought she was exhausted. She hadn’t considered she was coming down with something. “Achiness, exhaustion, chills, headache.”

“Sounds like a flu bug.”

“I got a flu shot.”

“Maybe a cold then.”

“No sneezing or runny nose.” She swallowed several times. “My throat is a little sore, too.” She opened her mouth in case he wanted to look inside and verify what she was saying.

He planted his hands on his hips. “You do know I’m not a doctor, right?”

She gave him a droll look. “You did ask what my symptoms are.”

He went on, as if she hadn’t spoken. “But you have a sister who is. Want me to call and ask her to stop by?”

Andi almost said no, but then she realized she didn’t have time to be sick. If she had something that an antibiotic could take care of, the sooner she started taking it, the better, and Natalie made house calls. “I guess.”

He shook his head again, but didn’t comment on her surly reply. “I’ll use your phone, since I’m guessing her number’s programmed in. Where is it?”

“On the dining table.”

“I’ll be back shortly. Don’t go to sleep.”

“Okay.” Andi laid back and closed her eyes, wondering why he’d say such a thing. She turned her head slightly and released her hold on the ice pack, easing the pressure against the bump. She sighed with relief and felt the tension in her body begin to ebb.

In spite of Jack’s warning, she realized she could easily fall asleep. She tried to open her eyes, but they were glued shut.

Oh, well.

Jack was gone so long, she thought he’d taken a side trip to the moon.

He was anything but quiet when he returned.

Andi worked her eyelids up.

His expression was grim.

So much for the caring, concerned Jack. He’d been supplanted once more by the angry Jack.

She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t have to look at him, but unfortunately, she couldn’t close her ears.

“What’s that stuff on the table, Andi?”

Her eyes flew open again. How had she forgotten the squished Bug? The threatening note? Hadn’t she just told him minutes ago that someone wanted her dead? Or was it hours ago? Had the injury to her head caused some kind of mental debilitation and memory loss already? “Someone left it on my doorstep this afternoon. I was going to call you, but I got so cold, I wanted to warm up before I bearded the lion in his den.”

He regarded her with a mix of consternation and anger.

“Honest.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe you, but will you lay off the smart-ass remarks for a while?” He opened the contact list on her phone and located Natalie’s cell phone number. He hit
SEND
and said to Andi, “To be continued after I talk to your sister.”

Andi listened in subdued silence as her boyfriend communicated with Nat about both her ailment and the knot on her head. Even though she worked to keep her eyes open, they had a mind of their own. All she wanted to do was sleep.

The next thing she knew, Natalie was shaking her awake.

Andi didn’t respond. Couldn’t Nat tell how tired she was?

“Andi, wake up!”

She tried to open her eyes, but they wouldn’t cooperate. Nat raised her eyelids, one at a time, shining a horrible bright light in each one. It hurt. “You were a lot more gentle when you pretended to be a doctor as a kid,” Andi grumbled.

“And you were a lot more cooperative when you were a kid,” Nat responded with a laugh. “Now roll over and be quiet, so I can listen to your lungs.” Her sister placed the diaphragm against Andi’s back, moving it several times with the instruction, “Deep breaths in.” After several of those, Nat said, “Okay, roll onto your back again so I can listen from the front.”

Andi finally got her eyes open.

Jack loomed over her. Caring Jack. She smiled at him, hoping to ease his obvious concern.

“That’s good enough,” her sister said a moment later.

“What do you think?” Jack asked when Nat had finished.

“I think she may have viral pneumonia.”

“Can you treat it?”

“Not with antibiotics, but she can still take ibuprofen for fever and pain and she’ll need to drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest.”

“What about knot on her head?”

“That could be problematic because of the chance of a hematoma forming.” Natalie dropped her stethoscope back into her medical bag. “She should have someone monitoring her tonight, just in case. Are you up for it?”

“Absolutely.”

“Good.” She snapped her med bag closed, then sat on the bed beside her sister. “Are you talking to another dead person in serious need of help, Andi?”

Wide awake now, or as wide awake as a head-injured person with a temperature of over one hundred degrees could be, Andi grappled with an answer.

“A simple yes or no will suffice,” Nat said, her own response laconic.

“Yes,” Jack answered, as if he were her ventriloquist.

Natalie gave a quick nod. “I thought something was up at dinner Sunday night. Andi was just too darned quiet.”

“Because I was starting to get sick,” Andi mumbled on her own behalf.

“Maybe, but I think it’s more likely because you’re embroiled in another brouhaha like the one with Sherry.” She glanced at Jack. “Or worse.”

“Hard to say,” he said, noncommittally.

“I get it,” Natalie said, rising. “MYOB, right?” She looked down at Andi. “I’ll check on you tomorrow. Want me to bring you a strawberry milkshake?”

Andi nodded. There wasn’t anything she liked more when she was under the weather.

“You want one now?” Jack asked. “I’ll run out and get it while Natalie’s still here.”

“That actually sounds good. Better grab something for yourself to eat while you’re out. My cupboards are kind of bare.”

Jack’s head swung in Nat’s direction. “You mind?”

“Nope. I’ll take one, too, since you’re buying.” She flashed him a grin, which he returned with good humor.

“Be right back.”

“From DQ,” Andi said. “Theirs are the best.”

“Aye, aye, cap’n.” And then he was gone.

“No lectures,” Andi said to her sister.

“Do I look like I’m gearing up to lecture you?”

“Yes.”

Natalie sat back down on the bed. “Look, I won’t offer a lecture about communicating with the dead, but I will lecture you about taking care of yourself while you’re doing it. You need less stress in your life, not more. Get plenty of rest, don’t skip meals, eat right, drink lots of fluids, try not to worry, and when you get to feeling better, get out and exercise your legs.”

“I can do pretty much all of that but I can’t skip worrying, Nat. Not when someone’s life is at risk.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that. Anyone I know?”

“I don’t think so.”

“That’s a relief.” She fiddled with the edge of the blanket Jack had thrown over Andi. “Vaughn called today and asked if he could transfer all his kids to our practice.”

“I’m not surprised,” Andi said. “You’re a great pediatrician.”

“He asked if there was any special medical equipment I needed for the office that my budget wouldn’t handle.”

“He’s a generous man,” Andi said. “What did you tell him?”

“That I appreciated the offer, but I have good credit and if I need anything, I can buy it myself.”

“Ouch.”

“I know,” Natalie said, her tone glum, “but at least I remembered to say ‘thank you’ for the offer.”

. . .

Andi woke twice during the night, once to use the bathroom and once to get a glass of ice water because she felt completely parched. Jack trailed after her, chastising her because she hadn’t woken him to get it for her. Andi snuggled up against him, secure in his embrace, even though she was shivering again. “Must have been the ice water,” she said.

“Or the virus. Back to bed with you.”

When she woke again at eight, Jack was asleep beside her bed in the chair he’d dragged in from the living room. Andi stretched, feeling like she’d slept curled into a tight ball all night long, though she knew that wasn’t the case.

“How are you feeling?”

“Too soon to tell, but I’m guessing I’ll live.”

With a serious expression on his handsome features, he said, “I certainly hope so.”

“Thanks for sitting watch over me.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I know you’re pissed at me because of the Helen MacLeary thing.”

His eyebrows dipped in an ominous frown. “So, I shouldn’t care if you’re sick because I’m ticked about you butting into my interview with her?” He shook his head in disgust. “What kind of man do you think I am, Andi, that I can’t separate our personal relationship from our work relationship?”

Andi stared at him, a little dumbfounded.

He continued before she could respond. “Just so you know, if you ever pull a stunt like that again, we’re going to have some major trouble. I still can’t believe how you went after her.”